


Brick By Boring Brick

by floralgarments (kandreil)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, Football | Soccer Player Lee Jeno, Football | Soccer Player Na Jaemin, Multi, Polyamory, Pre-Poly, do i label this as comedy because i think im funny or is that not ok, idk what else to tag honestly jus seeing where this goes, kind of a lighthearted comedy i may add angst later, renjun writes for the paper, we will see, yukhei flirts with renjun for Fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26510110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kandreil/pseuds/floralgarments
Summary: When foreign exchange student Huang Renjun joins the SNU paper, he anticipates taking on the investigative column just as he had back home. But when the Editor-In-Chief Kim Doyoung assigns him the sports column, he finds himself running into Lee Jeno & Na Jaemin more than he'd like. (Seriously though, why does he see those guys everywhere?)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Brick By Boring Brick

Early days at SNU had been rough for Huang Renjun.

His first day was spent dragging all of his own luggage and boxes to his dorm, because he had unwisely moved in a week earlier than the scheduled move-in date. There were no kind samaritans to help him hoist his tattered belongings up to his fourth floor suite, no parents with hand-carts lending them to struggling students who may need an extra hand.

No, sadly Renjun was forced to admit to himself he was much more frail than he had imagined. _It was worth the struggle._ This was his mantra. It chimed through his head with every strain in his muscles. Arriving early would help him adjust to campus without the bustle of students to silently judge his aimless wandering and memorization.

Well, that was his second mistake. It hadn't occurred to him that the sports teams would be on campus too. He gathered they had been there longer than he had, given how easily they would glide across campus in flocks. It was unnerving, Renjun never quite _understood_ athletes. The love for physical activity had escaped him since he was in primary school.

Lastly, as the finale to his series of unfortunate events, Renjun managed to make an absolute fool of himself in front of nearly all of the fall sports teams.

A tray full of pastries and the last of the lemon tea, he scoured the dining hall for a free table. Half of the room had been sectioned off to encourage the teams to sit with one another, _some kind of bonding exercise_ , he imagined. This left almost no space for the campus' only non-athlete.

Maybe if his head hadn't been on a swivel, he wouldn't have crashed into another body.

Yes, like a cliche romantic comedy meet-cute, Renjun had spilled his entire tray on some poor athlete. ( _However, he could only think about his precious lemon tea_ )

"Jesus fucking _CHRIST_ that's hot!" 

With that, the entire dining hall had turned to witness the train-wreck that was Huang Renjun's life. He froze like a deer in the headlights, growing up with the knowledge that jocks smell fear and pound small, nerd-boys like him into an oblivion if he wasn't careful. 

The boy in front of him was covered in flaky pastry crumbs and his hoodie was drenched in scalding tea. He quickly stripped off the citrus-stained fabric to reveal the tea had soaked through to his t-shirt, but not by much.

He was a bit taller than Renjun, broad shoulders and toned arms, the frame of any jock you'd pick out of a line-up. But his face was softer. His eyes were narrow, he had a long nose, soft thin lips, and a mop of ash-brown hair. He was some kind of male lead in a Kdrama. 

Renjun scrambled to grab napkins from the dispensary next to him, dabbing the other boy's chest inconsistently. It was like he couldn't decide if he wanted to be helpful or avoid touching this stranger's chest out of fear of repercussions. 

"I've never heard you swear before."

Renjun hadn't even noticed there had been someone else standing there too.

Of course it was yet another ridiculously handsome jock, but this one gave off a completely different vibe. For starters, he had tousled blonde hair that tickled his sharp cheekbones. He also happened to be sporting one of the most charming smiles Renjun had ever seen. It was like this boy could thaw any chilled atmosphere with the flutter of those long eyelashes he had. What kind of university was this? Seriously, Renjun felt like this was some kind of sick joke.

The dark haired boy took the napkins from Renjun's uncertain hands, pressing into the fabric of his shirt. 

"Shut up! He nearly burned my nipple off." He had muttered, only pleasing his friend more.

"You're being dramatic, Jeno. Apologize to him."

"He's the one who spilled his breakfast on me!"

Renjun could barely process any of what was happening before his eyes. He quickly crouched to clean up the mess his fallen tray had made, no longer hungry and ready to disappear. Before he realized it, he was profusely apologizing.

"I am so sorry, I really should have been looking where I was going." This was the only comprehendible sentence he could string together, the rest of his words had been jumbled.

"Don't sweat it. Most of it got on his hoodie, he's being dramatic. Do you need hel-"

Renjun swatted away any kind of help from the blond athlete, just hoping that he could evaporate into another dimension or die on the spot. Whatever came first. He had hastily reassembled his tray only to toss the contents in the trash beside them. He used a shaky hand to return the tray to the section of discards and attempted to speed walk to the nearest exit. In his departure, he could have sworn the blond asked for his name.

This was nothing new for Huang Renjun. He was often touted as a bit of an introvert, retreating to his room after school to read or play video games. He had assembled a small group of friends in high school and that was really all he needed. Popularity was never his _thing_. He didn't enjoy partaking in athletics and didn't value social climbing so most of his days were spent slaving over the school's paper. By his final year, he was Editor-In-Chief. 

Fast forward to his university years, and Renjun had realized writing was his calling. For now, he pursued journalism, but in his heart he knew creative writing was his true passion. At his small liberal arts school back in China, he was a columnist as a freshman. It would have been enough, but he needed a more impressive resume.

The move to Seoul only made sense. He knew Korean well, and SNU's campus paper launched the career of many international journalists and news correspondents.

Except uprooting his life to bolster his resume was jarring for a homebody like Renjun. He sought after the comfort of his mother in moments like these. He missed the small group of people he had surrounded himself with, the ones who knew him and loved him for all his quirks. Loneliness struck him like a stray bolt of lightning in an empty field.

Fighting off the lump growing in his throat, he waited until he was in the comfort of his dormitory to cry. He threw himself on his twin xl and sobbed until he coughed. It was a culmination of all the pent up frustration from his life-altering move. He knew this in the back of his mind. Yet, he felt as if he was in high school again. Grossly misunderstood by his peers, gawked at by athletes and popular kids alike for being some clumsy misfit. It was a time warp.

 _Had this all been a mistake?_ He used the sleeve of his cable knit sweater to wipe away his snot and tears, digging his phone out of his pocket when he was done with his fit. Brushing the chestnut hair from his eyes, he pulled up his mother's contact and face-timed her. Because he was a grown ass man, who desperately needed his mommy.

* * *

Renjun's mood lightened with time. He walled himself up in his room for 24 hours and then took the initiative to grocery shop to avoid the dining hall. He binge-watched dramas (avoiding anything with sports or boys who seemed unrealistically pretty. it was still too soon), brainstormed topics that he could propose to the Editor-in-Chief for SNU's paper, and played apps on his phone until his fingers felt numb. 

Before he knew it, the rest of the student body was moving in.

The international hall contained suites of four rooms that shared a communal kitchenette and living space. With this, Renjun anticipated three new suite-mates who could share in the up-rooting struggle. Renjun gave the other boys time to start trickling in, figuring he would play it cool in his room until they seemed ready to socialize.

After what felt like an agonizing undetermined amount of time, he finally poked his head out of his room to see if his new suite-mates needed any moving help. The first boy he met was an eager German exchange student with a wide smile and endless energy. 

"I'm Yangyang, thanks for giving me a hand!" The two tag-teamed carrying a ridiculously large flat screen television into their living space, placing it on the complementary bureau that came in the room. "Sorry, my mom went a little crazy with back to school shopping..." he admitted sheepishly.

Before they could further acquaint themselves, a skyscraper of a man made his way in with three stacked boxes, followed by a shorter boy with a single box and a lamp precariously placed on top. "I told you, I could take on another box!" The shorter boy shouted after the other, following him into one of the empty rooms.

They bickered back and forth before rejoining their new roommates in the living space. The tall one was the first to introduce himself. "I'm Yukhei. Good to meet you guys." His wide eyes lingered on Renjun, reaching a large hand out toward him for a handshake. Yangyang intercepted this interaction, giving Yukhei a hearty shake. "Hey, I'm Yangyang, this is Renjun! Where you from?"

Yukhei stifles a laugh, clearly endeared by Yangyang's antics. The corners of his eyes crinkle when he smiles, adding to his charm. "Hong Kong. I'm studying music and composition. Mark and I were just talking about it, we share some classes." He gestures to the boy who came in with him. He's got high cheekbones and twinkling eyes, he looks kind but he's clearly exhausted. He waves awkwardly but eventually shakes everyone's hand. 

"I'm Mark, hi." Yukhei claps a large hand on his shoulder, nearly knocking him forward with the force. The two make an unlikely pair but they seemed to be well acquainted. 

The four boys gathered around their living space and ordered take out, exchanging stories and taking this time to bond and get to know one another. They laughed over stories of drunken freshman year parties and embarrassing hookups. Renjun really felt as if he got a good group of suite-mates, people he enjoyed even more than his roommates back home. They all had similar goals of excellence but wanted to experience everything college had to offer. Perhaps they were destined to meet in this cinderblock cell of a dormitory. Renjun tried not to linger on the idea too long.

When it came time to clean up, Yukhei offered to help him wash dishes while Mark and Yangyang continued chatting on the couch. 

"I recognize you."

The comment came, seemingly, out of left field. Renjun's eyes flickered from his soapy sponge to the taller boy who seemed to be gazing down at him for a long period of time. Unaware of how to respond, Renjun furrowed his eyebrows and refocused on his dishes. 

"You were the guy who dropped his breakfast on that soccer player, Jeno! I was there, the basketball team asked me to walk on. So I was shadowing the team for the day." Renjun's entire body froze, eyes shutting tight at the memory he desperately tried to forget. Yukhei realized his mistake and quickly attempted damage control.

"No no, I didn't mean to call you out. It was sweet. Like, you were cute! It wasn't as bad as you think. Everyone felt bad for you. Wait.. is that worse? Never mind that. Jeno was okay, he felt bad. I think Jaemin made it worse but that guy talks a lot anyways. You didn't have to run off!!"

The more Yukhei talked, the hotter Renjun's ears grew. " _Dying or evaporation. I will take either."_ He told the universe, internally. Clearly Yukhei felt terrible, he wrapped an arm around Renjun's small waist and tugged him into a side hug. 

"Ah, relax. I just thought you were cute. I'm sorry. I guess what I meant to say was, don't sweat it." 

Renjun's shoulders relaxed, eyes fluttering open to accept that Yukhei wasn't bringing it up maliciously. He was genuinely endeared, and it explained why he was so fond of Renjun from the beginning. Yukhei's hand moved from the smaller boy's waist, up to his hair, ruffling it playfully. They finished up the dishes quietly before Yukhei threw his head back to look at the other two boys. 

"Guys, there's a party tonight. Volleyball team is hosting. They told me to bring my friends so if you're interested-"

He didn't even have to finish before Yangyang was into his room to change. Mark nearly doubled over with laughter before throwing Yukhei a thumbs up. "Hey man, we're in. Right Renjun?"

Renjun paused, turning the decision over in his mind. If his blunder in the dining hall really wasn't that big of a deal, showing up to this party would show he's resiliant. Not to mention, he wouldn't mind blowing off steam before the first day of classes and meeting with the paper's editor-in-chief. The room was silent in anticipation of his answer, even Yangyang had peeked out of his room to await his response. 

"Yeah sure, I'll go."

The boys erupted into cheers, Yukhei sweeping Renjun into a bear hug and lifting him off the ground for dramatic purposes. 

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

**Author's Note:**

> tbh I'm doing this on a whim because I love norenmin (clearly) and I feel like there isn't enough uni fics with them? also did this on no sleep so i'm hoping this one is only short because im sleep deprived....... and uh i did not edit 
> 
> BUT ENJOY !! pls be kind to me (:


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